#76 “TAKE THE HIGH ROAD!”

Listen to that advice, on LEJoG Day 76 Day 76 preamble ‘Take The High Road’ was a soap opera set in Scotland, which for reasons way beyond the ken of a Central region child, seemed to be on every flipping day during school holidays. The phrase comes from the chorus of the traditional Scottish song […]

#75 MONSTER

Day 75: LEJoG – the Longest Day Day 75 preamble The title “Monster” refers to both the length and conclusion of today’s walk. 25½ miles snatches the distance record from Barnstaple to Simonsbath, over 3 years earlier. And the destination was Fort Augustus, at the southern edge of Loch Ness, world-famous for its elusive monster. […]

#74 FLAWED HEEL FLOORED

A foot injury is no obstacle to LEJoG Day 74 Day 74 pre-amble The long-awaited return to Fort William and LEJoG followed an extremely difficult autumn and winter. It’s not really the place to discuss Covid-19, but the virus cast a very long shadow over all aspects of life in Britain between September 2020 (when […]

#73 ARRON MEETS BEN

The blogger meets his destiny, on LEJoG Day 73 Day 73 pre-amble You could argue that the whole of LEJoG was leading up to this. I called myself “Ben Wainless”, knowing that ‘Ben’ was a Scottish word for mountain. The reveal of my real name was always going to happen in Scotland. And, at the […]

#72 IF NOT NOW, WHEN?

The Ultimate Sidetrack – LEJoG Day 72 Day 72 pre-amble Well, this is a longer pre-amble than usual, because it includes a rest day. On Tuesday 22 September I woke full of plans for an assault on Buachaille Etive Mor and, if time allowed, a side trip to Glencoe village. The beckoning pyramid of The […]

#71 MOOR! MOR! MORE!

I’ve found a true connection with Scotland – LEJoG Day 71 Day 71 pre-amble A Chart Music-inspired 1970s song reference there, for all the pop-crazed youngsters. The ‘Moor’ is Rannoch Moor, the largest expanse of uninhabited wilderness in Britain. I’m sure I read that somewhere but can’t find it in the Trailblazer guidebook or online […]

#70 NECKLINE

National Parks no more – LEJoG Day 70 Day 70 pre-amble After a blitz of three posts in four days, I’ve taken a little break. The blog has received more hits than ever before in the last 7 days, so I could argue that the hiatus is a deliberate policy, enabling visitors to sample as […]

#69 …AND I HAVE WALKED 500 MORE

Yes, I have walked 500 miles and now I’ve walked 500 more: LEJoG Day 69 Day 69 pre-amble You knew this was coming once I reached the 1000 mile mark, surely. LEJoG Day 69 (Saturday 19 September 2020) Inversnaid to Tyndrum (19½ miles) Cumulative: 1,006 miles! And without walking into the sea as well. Facts: […]

#68 INVISIBILITY CLOAKS

Welcome to Hogwarts LEJoG Day 68 Day 68 pre-amble 68 days in and I think that’s the first Harry Potter reference on 50FootHead. I read all of the books between 2003 and 2007 but wouldn’t call myself a “fan” as such. For example: I haven’t seen all of the films, thought Order of the Phoenix […]

#67 THE REMAINS OF THE WAY

Welcome to the West Highland Way: LEJoG Day 67 Day 67 pre-amble This is the first day of the best long-distance walk I’ve completed so far: the West Highland Way. It’s also a strong contender for the best day of my LEJoG so far. Certainly it was the most memorable since Malham Cove and Pen-y-ghent […]

H7A: DEAR HUGH GRANT…. AKA ‘MY OTHER BLOODY VALENTINE’

Hello there. I’ve just this minute finished Day 66, in which my real name is revealed for the first time on the ‘Foot’ blog. Of course, here on the ‘Head’ blog, my real name was buried somwhere in the 29,000 words of post H7. Over on ‘Foot’, I used the story of an unsent Valentine […]

#66 “NO MAN IS AN ISLAND” (OR, WHAT A WAIST)

Welcome to LEJoG Day 66: all will be revealed… Day 66 pre-amble As promised, today I will reveal and start using my real name. But that can wait until the postscript. In the meantime there’s another section of the walk to enjoy or endure. For once, the post title will only be explained at the […]